


Love in the Time of Terra Nova

by Morelia



Category: Terra Nova (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dinosaurs, F/M, Light Angst, Needs More Dinosaurs!, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morelia/pseuds/Morelia
Summary: As if protecting the entire colony wasn't difficult enough, Commander Taylor unexpectedly finds himself trapped in the past with a woman who has an unexpected connection to Terra Nova. But she also forces Nathaniel to confront certain emotions he had thought were deeply buried in his past.
Relationships: Jim Shannon/Nathaniel Taylor, Nathaniel Taylor/Alicia Washington, Nathaniel Taylor/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Love in the Time of Terra Nova

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this fic back in 2011 and had it posted on FF. But I’ve been wanting to update this for ages now and decided AO3 should be its new home. The plot is not changing, but my writing style has changed a lot in 10 years, so I will be posting each chapter after making some pretty comprehensive edits. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always welcomed and very appreciated 😊 
> 
> Rebecca is my OC.

Year 2144

As Rebecca sat waiting, strapped into her well-worn bucket seat, low rumbling vibrations echoed out from her supercharged engine to pulse reassuringly throughout her body. She gripped the steering wheel firmly, letting out a slow breath as her heart thudded with the familiar unbridled thrill of anticipation. Granted, the feeling had diminished some over the years, but there was nothing quite like the excitement of awaiting the start of a new race. She squinted up through her visor surveying the dirty orange clouds that spanned the skies as far as the eye could see. The light was barely filtering through the dense haze, only serving to emphasize their rank color. She looked back down at the dusty racetrack, almost willing another tumbleweed to dance across its hot glossy surface.

Glancing to her console, Rebecca fiddled with her controls and verified the readings from her gauges. Her breath caught in her chest for a moment as it degraded into a sharp wheezing sound, which prompted her to thumb the medication cylinder attached to her re-breather helmet with a very practiced motion. Several deep breaths of the medicated fog dulled the rasping in her lungs, keeping yet another pulmonic episode at bay. Then her radio began to buzz in her ear as her crew rattled off their last-minute checks and orders—it was time to start the race.

Without any further delay, the red start-up lights hanging above the drivers flicked on one by one at an agonizing pace until they were all illuminated. Rebecca stilled herself as she waited for the inevitable. The red lights vanished and were promptly replaced with a solitary green beacon. Reacting immediately, Rebecca allowed her years of accumulated learned and natural racing instinct to take over, throwing her car into gear and stomping on the gas pedal within the tight span of a heartbeat. She easily claimed the lead out of the first turn. Sixty-four long laps later, as she crossed the finish line in a hard-earned first place, the amplified roar of the crowd filled her heart with what little joy was left in this world. Even through her labored breathing and aching bones, she still found it within herself to revel in the thrill of the race and a solid victory.

Rebecca coasted up to the garages and waited for her doors to slide apart. She cruised inside and the doors slammed shut behind her with a resounding thud. Waiting patiently within the safety of her racecar, the decontamination process swiftly cleared out sand and dirt from every crevice and surface of her vehicle, whisking it all away into the building’s internal vacuum system. The whining of the pressurization system faded around her and Rebecca popped open the airtight seal of her car. Crawling out of her window, Rebecca landed on the ground and was immediately swarmed by the ecstatic members of her team. She unstrapped her helmet from around her re-breather, and tried her best to respond in kind, but didn't have the energy. She had other news weighing on her mind—but it was best not to spoil their excitement just yet.

Gulping in the medicated air of her re-breather, Rebecca traversed the stark halls leading towards the glass box that encased the winner’s podium. She paused before the last door, taking in a final few deep inhales before unstrapping her mask and handing it to one of the attendants waiting for her. Their eyes connected as she cleared her throat with a series of nasty coughs, and she met his tense smile with her practiced one. Face fixed and nerves steeled, Rebecca strolled into the massive brightly-lit room and into the fame.

Despite the sight being all that she had known in her racing career, the orange tinted masses of her fans writhing from within the large protective viewing pods still felt terribly unnatural to her. This oddity, among other smaller subtleties, were constant reminders of the state of decay gripping the world around them. Rebecca played her part in the ceremony as professionally as she always had, and swiftly moved out into the hall at the first opportunity, snatching up her re-breather as she left. Reporters swarmed her with flashing cameras and chorused shouts. Rebecca muscled through the small blockade and skirted down some of the lesser populated halls. Grateful of the silence, she strapped on her re-breather in peace and found her way back down to her garage. 

As she approached her destination, the coughing fit that she had been repressing finally overwhelmed her. A quick hand grabbed Rebecca by her jumpsuit and yanked her through the waiting doorway as the first frantic gasp left her. The owner of the hand was Carl, her team manager, and as he slammed the door shut behind them, he guided Rebecca to a nearby chair to collapse upon. She leaned forward, ripped off her re-breather, and braced herself on her knees, gasping and wheezing viciously until she had managed to extract her inhaler from her pocket.

Hands shaking, Rebecca dropped the inhaler, panic gripping her at the sound of it clattering across the floor. Carl swiftly stooped down to pick it up before pressing it back into her hand. He squeezed her fingers against the metal tube until she raised it to her mouth and successfully puffed in the medication. Her breathing slowly eased, wheezes lowering in intensity until she could sit upright and quietly thank her manager through long forced breaths.

"You can't let those vultures see you like this Rebecca. All the media needs is more terror to feed to the people,"

Rebecca gestured weakly to the door behind them.

“No one followed me, Carl.”

“Maybe, but imagine what would happen if the nation discovered their two-time racing league champion had end-stage pulmo-replasia despite our top-of-the-line counter measures, equipment, and medicine. We would have a riot on our hands.”

He glanced back nervously at the door as if the reporters were suddenly able to see and hear through solid sheets of reinforced steel.

Rebecca forced a quick hacking cough to partially clear her throat again before she could respond.

"Everyone is already terrified. This world is already lost, with or without me being..."

Pausing, Rebecca grasped at the chair as a new wave of coughing overtook her. She saw the room around her cant to the side as she coughed herself off her perch and onto floor. Carl cursed under his breath and sat Rebecca up on the polished concrete, helping to steady her. When her coughing finally subsided, she pulled her hand away from her mouth. Carl's face went pale and she quickly reached up and wiped her mouth blindly, knowing that there would be traces of blood dotting her lips. Then she spoke the words she had been dreading,

"I'm sorry Carl, but it's time. I have to resign. This was my last race…At least I went out with a bang."

Her voice was now hoarse and cracking, starkly emphasizing her point. Carl did not seem to be surprised at this news.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to Terra Nova."

Finally, shock flitted across Carl's face quite clearly.

"What? How? It's practically impossible to be chosen for Terra Nova!"

"Honestly, I was surprised to be contacted. They say they want navigators, and my military experience paired with my driving ability would be the ideal combination. But I haven't been active for years and somehow they did know about my disease and how far it has progressed."

"Maybe they know they're saving your life."

Rebecca gave him a wry smile.

"Maybe, but maybe someone else needs this chance more than I do."

Carl looked at her curiously.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to trade places.”

“We’re not. But that doesn’t mean I deserve this.”

“Why don’t you try sounding a little more grateful then?”

Rebecca glanced back to her manager and sighed.

“No, you’re right. Thank you for everything, Carl.”

She said the rest of her goodbyes, strapped on her re-breather, and walked into the dusty orange sunset.

Three Months Later

Rebecca shouldered her pack, gazing up at the cavernous room around her. It was dark, cold, and covered with dark gray metal inlayed with long shining glass veins. Each vein was filled with a pulsing blue light that cut through the dim atmosphere, powered by some hidden mechanical heart. She tugged at the sleeve of her uniform anxiously, but some hope was rising within her from a place she had thought was long dead.

After working her way through the last few security checks, she had finally caught up with her small marine unit, which was settled at the head of the line of civilians waiting to enter the portal. Her unit was slated to be the first through the portal as the forward guard. She fell into line and smiled softly to herself at the realization that her life was about to change forever. There was nothing left for her here anyway. She coughed harshly into her sleeve and tried to hide the wheezing that was creeping into her breaths. This made her think desperately of the fresh air that Terra Nova was rumored to have, hoping it would be enough to cure her—she just needed to get through that portal before her next nasty spell.

The soft humming of the room slowly rose in pitch until it felt like the entire room was vibrating. Rebecca could feel the power building from the portal before it actually opened, it gave her a strange tingling sensation across her entire body. But the vibrations under her feet were not so different from those of the engine from her racecar, and in a way that was comforting. She suppressed a cough once more and earned a concerned glance from the officer walking by her. He paused and nodded in recognition,

"Congratulations on the win the other month, Miles."

She snapped to attention at the recognition and responded,

"Thank you, sir,"

The officer nodded again before continuing down the line. Sadness seeped into her heart as she reflected upon the things she would be leaving behind to go to Terra Nova, though they were few, thoughts of her racing family were at the forefront of her mind.

With a loud crack, the blazing blue portal appeared in front of her unit, forcing Rebecca out of her thoughts and extracting a few scattered cheers throughout the nervous crowd. Wind swirled up around them, whipping small strands of Rebecca's hair out from her tight bun. Rebecca and her line of marines were ordered forward, and they moved their line to the base of the giant blinding disk of light. The first marine rushed the portal with confidence and disappeared with a small flurry of bright sparks. With the entry of each soldier, the line in front of Rebecca grew shorter and her anticipation grew exponentially.

She took a deep breath as she became the head of the line and closed her eyes until the officer ordered her forward. She opened her eyes and walked steadily towards the portal, her hair flying wildly, her bun now almost undone by the force of the wind gusting through the chamber. The pulsing vibrations now seemed to permeate every bone in her body, but she kept walking towards the light. Bright blue light engulfed her senses and electricity crackled through her body, but she just kept pushing forward until the light faded and a world she had thought lost to humanity came into focus.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! There will be more chapters to come! 
> 
> As always, please review! :)


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